Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that the majority of NATO members stood with his country and summit in Vilnius must confirm Ukraine as a de facto member of the military alliance. Kyiv on Monday also said that Ukrainian troops had captured key heights around the eastern city of Bakhmut in its counteroffensive. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage on the war in Ukraine, please click here.
04:00am: Russia launches overnight air attack on Kyiv
Russia launched an overnight air strike on Kyiv, with air defence systems engaged in repelling the attack, Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration of the Ukrainian capital, said on the Telegram messaging app.
"The enemy attacked Kyiv from the air for the second time this month, Serhiy Popko, a head of Kyiv's military administration, said in a post on the Telegram channel.
According to preliminary information, Ukraine's air defence systems shot down all the Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched before they reached their targets, Popko said.
There was no immediate information about damage or casualties. Air raid alerts blasted over Kyiv for an hour and longer in other parts of Ukraine's east, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
03:00am: Russian diplomats berate US, NATO over Ukraine
The US is pushing NATO to the "most unfavourable" confrontation with Moscow with the decisions expected from the alliance's summit in Lithuania this week, while Kyiv's allies are "losing" in Ukraine, Russian diplomats said late on Monday.
The Kremlin has been angered by the expected solidarity with Ukraine at the NATO summit which starts on Tuesday, saying Kyiv's potential membership in the alliance would be a threat to Russia and Moscow will react clearly and firmly.
Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said the United States is preparing anti-Russian decisions at the NATO summit.
"Everything is being done to prepare the local public opinion for the approval of any anti-Russian decisions that will be made in Vilnius in the coming days," Antonov said in a post on the embassy's Telegram channel.
12:56am: Zelensky says he understands Ukraine will be in NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he expects the NATO summit in Vilnius to confirm that Ukraine is already a "de facto" member of the military alliance and work out an "algorithm" for Kyiv to officially join it.
"When we applied for membership of NATO, we spoke frankly: de facto, Ukraine is already in the alliance. Our weapons are the weapons of the alliance. Our values are what the alliance believes in. ... Vilnius must confirm all this," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"We are still working on the wording, that is, on the specific words of such confirmation, but we already understand the fact that Ukraine will be in the alliance, and we are working to make the algorithm for gaining membership as clear and fast as possible."
10:22pm: Turkey unblocks Sweden NATO bid, setting stage for summit
Turkey agreed Monday to allow Sweden to join the NATO alliance, setting the stage for the allies to showcase their unity at a summit focused on securing support for Ukraine's battle against Russia's invasion.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's block on Sweden's membership bid had cast a cloud over preparations for Tuesday's meeting, but Sweden and Turkey ironed out their differences in eleventh-hour talks.
After meeting Erdogan and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg declared it had been a "historic day" after the Turkish leader agreed to back Stockholm's application.
"Completing Sweden's accession to NATO is an historic step that benefits the security of all NATO allies at this critical time. It makes us all stronger and safer," Stoltenberg said.
Sweden's bid must still be approved by the Turkish parliament, but Erdogan has agreed to push for its ratification.
Hungary is also yet to approve it, although Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has vowed it will not be the last to make the step, implying it will move soon.
Read moreTurkey's Erdogan agrees to back Swedish NATO bid, says alliance chief Stoltenberg
9:29pm: Ukrainian minister says he fears Russia has 'no red lines' to prevent attacks on nuclear plant
The catastrophic collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine has made Kyiv worried that Russia might stage an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to foment panic and quell Ukrainian advances on the front line, Ukraine’s energy minister said Monday.
Herman Halushchenko said the destruction of the dam while under Russian control in the Kherson region proved “there are no red lines” for Moscow. He said it warrants the level of alarm Ukraine’s leadership has been raising in recent weeks of an alleged Russian ploy to attack the nuclear plant in a possible false flag operation.
Halushchenko said he and Zelensky had raised alarms as early as October 2022 that the Russians could plant mines to blow up the Kakhovka dam.
9:21pm: Death toll rises in Russian shelling of Ukraine aid point, says governor
Russian shelling on an aid hub in the town of Orikhiv in southern Ukraine has killed seven people, the emergency services said on Monday.
Regional governor Yuriy Malashko called it a "war crime". "They hit a humanitarian aid delivery spot in a residential area," he said on social media. "Four people died on the spot: women aged 43, 45 and 47 and a 47-year-old man."
The death toll has since increased, emergency services said. "Rescuers removed the bodies of three people with no signs of life from under the rubble. The number of dead has risen to seven", Ukraine's emergency services wrote on Telegram.
Orikhiv, with a pre-war population of around 14,000 people, is in the frontline southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, which Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year despite not having full military control over it.
Ukraine's prosecutor general said in a statement the strike had occurred a day earlier at 1:20 pm local time (1020 GMT), and that 13 people were injured, in addition to those killed.
8:33pm: Zelensky says Vilnius summit must confirm Ukraine a de facto member of NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday said the majority of NATO members stood together with his country and the Vilnius summit must confirm that Ukraine is a de facto member of the military alliance.
"The majority of the Alliance stands firmly with us," Zelensky said in his nightly video message. "When we applied for membership of NATO, we spoke frankly: de facto, Ukraine is already in the Alliance. Our weapons are the weapons of the alliance. Our values are what the alliance believes in. ... Vilnius must confirm all this."
Zelensky said further weapons supplies for Ukraine in its war against Russia would also be discussed at the summit and added: "I am sure that there could well be positive news regarding weapons for our men from Vilnius."
7:49pm: Mobilisation official in Russian city of Krasnodar killed by gunman, says Russian TASS agency
A deputy chief of a city department in charge of military mobilisation in the Russian southern city of Krasnodar has been killed, TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing law enforcement bodies.
It said Stanislav Rzhitsky was killed by a gunman. A criminal case into the killing has been opened, the news agency added.
According to TASS, Rzhitsky commanded the Krasnodar submarine, named after the city, in the Russian Navy. It is unclear whether he was the current captain of the submarine at the time of his killing.
7:18pm: Russian army chief Gerasimov makes first TV appearance since failed Wagner rebellion
Russian army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov made his first appearance on Monday since the Wagner group's short-lived mutiny in a televised clip shared by the ministry of defence.
Gerasimov was one of the two main targets of a short-lived rebellion that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched against the conventional army last month.
In a video from the Russian ministry of defence, officials briefed Gerasimov on a Ukrainian attempt to strike Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula on Sunday.
Since the failed mutiny, speculation has been rife that there could be a reshuffle among Russia's military leadership. Uncertainty remains over the fate of Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russia's aerospace forces perceived as being sympathetic to Wagner. The footage released Monday did not show Surovikin, who officially remains Gerasimov's deputy.
6:29pm: Biden arrives in Vilnius for NATO summit
US President Joe Biden arrived in Vilnius on Monday ahead of a NATO summit dominated by the war in Ukraine and Sweden's quest to join the alliance.
Air Force One landed in the Lithuanian capital as the leaders of the 31-member Atlantic alliance gathered for the two-day meeting.
6:18pm: NATO allies agree on regional plans for defence against Russian attack, say diplomatic sources
NATO allies on Monday reached agreement on regional plans detailing how the alliance would respond to a Russian attack, overcoming a Turkish blockage, three diplomats told reporters.
The revival of the plans signifies a major shift as it is the first time NATO has drawn up such plans since the end of the Cold War three decades ago.
Turkey has been blocking approval of the plans over the wording on geographical locations such as Cyprus.
6:07pm: Germany's Scholz says Israel-style security guarantees for Ukraine one of several options
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that the United States' suggestion of Israel-style security guarantees for Ukraine is one of several options being discussed and added that talks on the issue are far from being finished.
US President Joe Biden, who is en route to Lithuania, told CNN on Sunday that Washington was ready to provide security to Ukraine in the mould of what it provides to Israel: "the weaponry they need, the capacity to defend themselves".
4:07pm: Lavrov says UN efforts on ‘Russian part’ of grain deal have not produced results
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that efforts by the United Nations to ensure the implementation of the "Russian part" of the Black Sea grain export deal had not yet yielded results.
"These incredible efforts have not produced any result at all," Lavrov told a press conference after meeting foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Moscow has repeatedly said it sees no grounds to extend the grain deal – which enables Ukraine to export cereals from its Black Sea ports – beyond July 17. It argues that commitments made to remove obstacles to Russian food and fertiliser exports have not been fulfilled.
2:38pm: US decision to send cluster munitions splits Western allies
Is there such a thing as a "just war"? FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert unpacks the split within the West over the controversial decision by the US to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. Herbert points out that 123 countries have signed on to a 15-year-old convention banning them.
"These aren't just any weapons," he says. "They are bombs that break into small 'bomblets', dispersed over a wide area of the battlefield, clearly in areas where civilians after the war will be walking around, and they tend to linger there and can explode years later."
2:22pm: Ukraine says it captured key heights around Bakhmut
Kyiv said on Monday that Ukrainian troops had captured key heights around the eastern city of Bakhmut, as the Western-backed country pushes ahead with its counteroffensive.
"During the process of advancing, our troops took control of key commanding heights around Bakhmut," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said on Telegram.
1:39pm: NATO to drop major hurdle for Ukrainian membership, but reforms still needed, source says
NATO is set to drop a major hurdle to Ukraine’s bid for membership in the alliance, a Western official said Monday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the allies “are set” to drop the Membership Action Plan requirement for Ukraine’s application.
“MAP is just one of the steps in the NATO accession process though so even with its removal, Ukraine will still need to complete further reforms before joining NATO,” the official said.
1:10pm: Putin met with Wagner chief days after failed mutiny
The Kremlin said Monday that President Vladimir Putin had met with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 29 in the Kremlin, days after the mercenary group attempted to topple Russia’s military leadership.
“The president gave his assessment of the events of June 24,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to the failed insurrection, adding that Putin also “listened to accounts given by (Wagner) commanders”.
During the three-and-a-half-hour meeting in the Kremlin with Wagner commanders, Putin offered Wagner fighter “alternative options for employment”, including in combat roles, Peskov said.
He added that Wagner commanders “stressed that they are staunch supporters ... of the head of state” and that “they were ready to continue fighting for the motherland.”
On Thursday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko – who acted as a mediator in the deal with Wagner – said neither Prigozhin nor his men were in his country.
1:08pm: Lithuania hit by cyberattacks on NATO summit eve
Lithuania’s government said the country was hit by a wave of cyberattacks on Monday, a day before NATO leaders are due to gather in the Baltic state’s capital Vilnius.
“As we speak, there are yet (more) distributed denial-of-service attacks on our country taking place,” Liudas Alisauskas, the head of National Cyber Security Centre, told reporters.
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is designed to overwhelm the target with a flood of internet traffic, preventing the system from functioning normally. The attacks targeted the Vilnius municipality’s websites, including tourism information site and a public transport app.
The National Cyber Security Centre said it had also received a report on Sunday regarding two other cyber incidents, one of which involved the hacking of a regional radio station. The station’s broadcast was interrupted by disinformation targeting NATO and Ukraine.
Lithuania will host the NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
11:35am: Ukraine says it has recaptured 14 square kilometres over the past week
Ukraine on Monday said its forces had recaptured 14 square kilometres from occupying Russian forces in the south and east of the country over the last week.
“Over 10 square kilometres of Ukrainian land had been recaptured in the south of Ukraine last week," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Kovalyov told state media. “In the Bakhmut sector last week, the Ukrainian military liberated four square kilometres of territory from the Russian invaders.”
Kyiv claims to have recaptured a total of 193 square kilometres since launching its counteroffensive a month ago.
11:32am: Poland says it has detained 'another' Russian spy
Poland has detained another member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people rounded up in an ongoing investigation to 15, the interior minister said on Monday.
A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies and it accuses Moscow of trying to destabilise it.
“The Internal Security Agency has detained another member of the spy network working for Russian intelligence,” Mariusz Kaminski said in a post on Twitter. “The suspect kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports. He was systematically paid by the Russians.”
Prosecutors said in a statement that the individual arrested was a Ukrainian citizen who had been in Poland since 2019. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The prosecutors also said further arrests linked to the investigation cannot be ruled out at this stage
8:12am: Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in Ukraine, data suggests
Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia’s war dead.
Independent Russian media outlets Mediazona and Meduza worked with a data scientist from Germany’s Tubingen University using Russian government data to determine the human cost of its invasion of Ukraine.
They relied on a statistical concept popularised during the Covid-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under age 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than in other years.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses.
8:01am: Several killed in Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia region
Four people died and 11 were injured in Russia’s bombing of a residential area of the frontline town of Orikhiv in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region when distribution of humanitarian aid was taking place, the governor of the region said on Monday.
Governor Yuriy Malashko said those killed included three woman and a man, all in their 40s. He added that Russia carried out 36 targeted strikes on 10 settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 500-day war that Russia has been waging against its neighbour.
7:58am: Russia's top general Gerasimov appears in first video since mutiny
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia’s armed forces, has appeared in a video in which he is seen listening to a report about Ukrainian missile attacks. It is his first public appearance since the Wagner Group’s failed June 24 mutiny.
The video was made available by the Russian defence ministry which said the footage showed Gerasimov participating in a meeting on Sunday. In the video, the general is sitting in a military command room on a white leather seat, speaking to top generals and giving orders, including to the head of military intelligence (GRU).
5:30am: US, Ukraine's top diplomats speak on phone ahead of NATO summit
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said late on Sunday they held a phone call to discuss this week's NATO summit and Kyiv's counteroffensive campaign to reclaim land taken by Russia.
The US State Department said in a statement that the two diplomats had discussed "progress in Ukraine's counteroffensive".
Kuleba said on Twitter that the call was to work out details ahead of the NATO summit, which starts on Tuesday in Vilnius.
2:15am: Russia condemns US decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine
The White House has in effect confessed to committing war crimes by agreeing to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, the Russian embassy in the US said in comments published late on Sunday.
"We paid attention to (White House national security spokesperson John) Kirby's statements about the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine. The official admitted de facto to committing war crimes by the United States in the Ukrainian conflict," the embassy said on the Telegram messaging app.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of already using cluster munitions in the 500-day war that Moscow has been waging against Kyiv. Ukraine promised last week the munitions that the US decided to ship to Kyiv will not be used in Russia.
1:45am: Ukrainian forces advance in south, hold 'initiative,' Zelensky says
Ukrainian troops pressed on with their campaign to recapture Russian-held areas in the southeast on Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelensky said in broadcast comments that his country's forces had "taken the initiative" after an earlier slowdown.
Russian accounts said heavy fighting gripped areas outside the eastern city of Bakhmut, captured by Russian mercenary Wagner forces in May after months of battles.
Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said heavy fighting raged in two areas of the southeast.
"We are consolidating our gains in those areas," she wrote.
1:29am: Ukrainian fencing team likely to miss Paris 2024 Olympics, says Kharlan
Ukraine athletes' boycott over the presence of Russians and Belarusians at the fencing World Championships could cost the country valuable points and jeopardise its qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games, Ukrainian sabre fencer Olga Kharlan said.
Ukraine will not take part in the individual events at the World Championships starting on July 22 in Milan, just as they did at last month's European Championships, after the International Fencing Federation (FIE) allowed Russia and Belarus fencers to compete as neutrals.
Four-time Olympic medallist Kharlan, a member of the Ukraine Fencing Federation Athletes' Commission, said Russia and Belarus featuring in these tournaments will prevent Ukraine from qualifying for individual events at next year's Games in Paris.
"Given all the bans, I can't qualify for the Olympics in the individual competition. I need to earn points to get to the Games. I need to participate in all competitions," Kharlan told Ukrainian news site Tribuna in an interview released on the weekend.
Key developments from Sunday, July 9:
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday said the country should not "block" the United States from sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, while defending its opposition to the use of the controversial weapon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced hope for the "best possible result" from an upcoming NATO summit where Kyiv is looking for a greenlight regarding its bid to join the alliance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the leaders of the NATO defence alliance should discuss Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at the summit that starts on July 11.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
